Making Lists & Checking Them Twice

We're coming up on not only the end of another year, but another decade, so naturally everyone and their brother's magazine are releasing all kinds of lists and superlatives--influential people, biggest catastrophes, best dressed, sexiest man alive... (Look, I loved Captain Jack, but I've seen the cover of People, and no way is that photo sexier than Dean Winchester.) And as you probably already know BuddyTv.com compiled their top 50 television episodes of 2009, which featured both Changing Channels and Monster At The End of This Book --which both rocked, not only because they were hilarious but because they weren't just throwaway funny, they furthered the story in big ways.

It's not uncommon for us to do lists here at SPN Sisters. In just November, MJ listed her fave and not-so-fave eps and I'm pretty sure that in our archives there's a list of great Impala moments. So I wanted to share a few slightly more obscure lists and superlatives. (These are, of course, strictly my opinion. Feel free to agree, disagree, and share your own in comments!!!)

Horror, violence, and the occasional sex--Supernatural is definitely not children's television! And yet, from that early scene in the pilot when young Dean has to carry baby sam out of the burning house, kids have always had an impact on the show. Best child actors on Supernatural (in no particular order):

1. Nicholas Elia--this potential mini-Dean stole my heart and certain scenes in Season 3's "The Kids Are Alright."

2. Margot Berner-- The girl who played Katie on the same episode, however, was chilling enough to make me nervous around my own daughter the next day. (Hey, I'm not proud of that, I'm just sayin'.)

3. Sierra McCormick-- Of course, the creepiest child they've ever had on the show, IMO, is this adorable little blond girl who was possessed by Lilith in the season 3 finale "No Rest For the Wicked." YIKES.

4. Ridge Canipe-- First seen in the flashbacks of Season 1's "Something Wicked," this younger version of Dean portrays his emotional conflicts about his dad and brother just as compellingly as the adult Dean we all know and love!

5. Gattlin Griffith-- This season's "Jesse Turner" and the potential lynchpin for the apocalypse, this kid was utterly believable, a little eerie, and a lot heart-wreching. I hope they bring him back for more episodes!!!


But of course, it's not only the under-eighteen guest stars who shine on the show. Here are my five favorite (old enough to vote) guest stars:

1. Richard Speight Jr (Trickster/Gabriel)

2. Mitch Pileggi (Samuel Campbell, aka Dean and Sam's grandfather!)

3. Charles Malik Whitfield (Agent Henricksen) This determined FBI agent truly thought his was the side of justice when he pursued "dangerous fugitives" Sam and Dean, finally catching them in Jus In Bello, where he learns the truth and sets up the best line in the whole episode when he stammers, "I shot the sherrif."

4. Samantha Ferris (Ellen Harvelle) While we didn't see her as much as the boys' awesome father figure recurring character Bobby Singer, this tough but caring maternal character was a great addition to every episode she was in!

5. Lauren Cohan (Bela Talbot; Hey, it's my list, I can include her if I want to!)

Honorable mentionts to Julie Benz (season 1) and Amy Gumenick (season 4).


Clearly the producers have no trouble getting great guest stars! But we fans can't help hoping that some other actors we enjoy land on the show. Here are the five people I'd most love to see pop up in a well-written role:

1. Alan Tudyk- This guy can be either terrifying or hilarious, both areas in which SPN excels and I love seeing him on TV! (Which is looking less likely since his guest character was killed off on ABC and the show in which he had a guest character was cancelled on FOX.)

2. Jason Dohring

3. Lee Pace

4. Alexis Denisof

5. Mary McDonnell - BSG Alumni Callum Keith Rennie, Tricia Helfer and Mark Sheppard have all appeared, so why not madame president herself?


While it's no secret that I am a weenie and Supernatural IS part horror-flick, every once in a while, the gore just seems a bit more nauseating than it had to be. I give you my top 5 Dude, was that really necessary? episodes:

1. Skin

2. On the Head of a Pin (the violence and blood was definitely plot-related, but this one was seriously difficult for me to watch)

3. Wendigo (to be fair, I'm guessing on this one--my eyes were covered for a lot of it)

4. Time Is On My Side

5. No Rest For the Wicked

It would have been nice to list my favorite Sam and Dean moments, but I'm not sure I could narrow that down to the top fifty! What are a few of yours?

How to Hook Someone on Supernatural

I don’t claim to be an expert on converting people to Supernatural. I gave my brother the first season when he broke his back, but I don’t think he’s watched it. I loaned my first season DVDs to my parents and baby brother but while they watched it, they don’t watch the new episodes. I think I MAY have hooked Michelle Rowen because I posted pictures of pretty boys on my blog. I do know she now has a cat named Sammy. Whether I can take credit…..

The recent Entertainment Weekly episode listed some episodes for people new to the show to watch. This made me think…what episodes would I suggest to someone just getting started in the show? (It gets harder as the season progresses because of the mythology, but here are my picks.)

1) The pilot. In my opinion, it’s one of the all-time best pilots, with a balance of backstory (though Kripke laments the awkward dialogue between the brothers relaying the information), humor, urban legend and scariness. Hey, I watched the pilot and bought the first season. We’re introduced to John’s journal and Dean’s love for the Impala.



2) Bloody Mary. Creeeeeepy, great interaction between the brothers



3) Hook Man. Creeeeeeeeeepy, one of my favorites. I love the urban legend, the girl, the brothers. This interaction:
Dean: I told him you were a dumbass pledge and that we were hazing you.
Sam: What about the shotgun?
Dean: I said that you were hunting ghosts and spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank.
Sam: And he believed you?
Dean: Well you look like a dumbass pledge.



4) Scarecrow. One of my very favorite episodes. It’s on my iPod and I watch it all the time. It’s scary and has terrific conflict between the brothers, but is a self-contained episode.
5) Faith. Oh, man. Great episode. Emotional, scary, also with some great lines to diffuse the tension.
Dean: That fabric softener teddy bear. Oooh! I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down.



6) Hellhouse. The pranks, the Ghostfacers, the scary tulpa. Another one on my iPod.
Dean: Man I hate rats.
Sam: Would you rather it was a ghost?
Dean: Yes.

Harry: What are you guys doing here?
Dean: What the hell are you doing here?
Ed: Uh, we belong here, we're professionals.
Dean: Professional what?

Dean: What's the matter, Sammy? You afraid you gonna get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?
Sam: All right. Just remember you started it.
Dean: Oh, bring it on, baldy.



7) Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things. Zombies! Woot! Also, Dean cries.

Dean: Neil, it's your grief counselors. We've come to hug.



8) Bad Day at Black Rock. Funny, with enough history to clue in a new watcher.

Sam: I lost my shoe.

Dean: I’m Batman!



9) Bloodlust. We have the return of the Metallicar and badass Dean, who starts to doubt his job after all these years.
Sam: (talking to Dean) Give you a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows and you're Mr. Sunshine.



10) A Very Supernatural Christmas. Funny, different, a bit gross, but poignant
Dean: You fudge'n touch me again, I'll fudge'n kill you!
11) Ghostfacers—funny, creepy, shows the work the brothers do, and that they can’t save everyone.
Dean: Hey, Ed, listen to me. There's some salt in my duffel. Make a circle and get inside.
Ed: Inside your duffel bag?
Dean: In the salt, you idiot!

Considered and rejected:

1) Monster Movie—too light overall
2) Croatoan—one of my FAVORITES but too much mythology to start. Also, the boys don’t solve the problem.



3) Yellow Fever—too violent at the end, though this is the Denim Shirt show. Guh.



4) The Monster at the End of This Book—another favorite, but too heavy on mythology



5) Hunted. Too much about the psychic powers for a new watcher, but terrific tension



6) The Benders. Can you tell I loved Season 1? But since these aren’t supernatural beings, not a good starter episode.
7) Jus in Bello. LOVED this episode, but you’d have to know about Henrickson and all the Lilith/Ruby stuff.
8) Nightshifter. Another terrific episode, but you’d need more history to watch, I think.

What episodes would you recommend to a new viewer? Can you think of other ways to hook someone on Supernatural?

The Monster At The End Of This Book

What kind of librarian would I be if I didn’t mention the children’s book which inspired this episode’s title? Jon Stone’s self-referential Little Golden book, which has Sesame Street’s loveable Grover warning the reader they should not turn the pages lest they come across a scary monster at the end, only to learn the only monster there is HIM, is a personal fave.

Here Sam and Dean discover a series of books based on their actual life. It starts when FBI agents DeYoung and Shaw (Styx) show up to investigate a haunting at Golden Comics only to be accused of LARPing by the shop owner. He thinks they are Live Action Role Playing, quite convincingly, their favorite characters from a series of books called Supernatural. The paranormal novels didn’t sell a lot of copies, but had an underground cult following. When the store owner yanks book one from the bargain bin, replete with a Fabio cover, the Winchesters demand all the books on hand.

“I’m full frontal here, dude.” ~ Dean

In addition to learning the author has a freaky inside look at their life, they also discover a fan base of Dean girls, Sam girls and to their hilarious horror, Slash fans. After shuddering at the idea of Wincest, the two track down the publisher who’s a bit of a fangirl herself, but before she’ll put them in touch with the enigmatic author, Carver Edlund, they’re going to have to prove their fanaticism. She quizzes the boys, but it’s not until they flash their tattoos, and I so love it when they do that, that she’s convinced of their allegiance and flashes her own intimate inkwork.

Turns out Carver Edlund is a pseudonym for Chuck Shurley and one of the funniest scenes is when he’s narrating Sam and Dean’s arrival as they approach his house. Still, he’s not easily convinced his characters are flesh and blood.

“Is this some kind of Misery thing?”

Eventually the boys do persuade him they’re the real deal and he is not, in fact, a God who’s forcing them to live bad writing, but maybe a psychic who, for some odd reason, is really tuned into their lives.

Still, Sam isn’t entirely convinced Chuck can foresee their future and this becomes abundantly clear in the laundromat scene when Dean is able to “read” Sam’s mind by reading Chuck’s new pages.

Dean: “You just thought I was a dick.”
Sam: “The guy is good.”

But it’s Chuck’s latest vision about Sam in the “throes of fiery demonic passion” with Lilith, now in the form of a comely dental hygienist, that has Dean really trippin. He admits he’s worried Sam’s going to go all darkside and decides their best plan of action is to do the opposite of everything scripted. Only that doesn’t work out so well. Despite their every effort, they end up exactly where they were written to be.

And poor Chuck is writing himself more and more into their story. First, Sam calls him to the hotel, where Dean has put his brother under house arrest, and quietly confesses he wishes he could stop sucking demon blood. Then, a pissed off Dean is waiting for Chuck at his house. Just when the writer is about get his ass kicked Castiel shows up and tells Dean that Chuck is a prophet of the Lord. That’s right, those books are the Gospel of Winchester. And here’s where my fave line came in.

Chuck: “I mean, writing yourself into the story is one thing, but as a prophet? That’s like M. Night level doucheness.”

At this point Dean learns there’s not a damn thing he can do. What the prophet has written can not be unwritten. What’s he’s seen will come to pass. In other words, Sam and Lilith are going to get busy. Ew.

Distraught and pissed off, Dean prays for help. Cas pops in and tells him his show of faith is a good thing, but it’s not in his power to help. However, if say, a demon, were to seem like she was threatening a prophet, that prophet’s protective Archangel warrior would come kick her sorry ass. The hint is all the incentive Dean needs. He grabs Chuck and heads for the hotel where Sam is waiting for Lilith.

As foretold, Lilith shows up and puts the moves on Sammy. Turns out she’s not going to survive this war and she’d much rather squash things in their tracks and go back to the way they were. All Sammy has to do to stop the seals from breaking and the apocalypse from coming is sacrifice himself and Dean for the greater good and cement the contract by sleeping with Lilith. Ew. Ew.

Sam’s first instinct is to fight, but Lilith easily breaks his devil’s trap and when he shoves his powerful palm at her, he just prettily blows her hair like a Pantene commercial. The two are at an impasse, so Sam finally agrees to the deal, gets her on the bed and tries to stab her. She wrestles the knife from him and—

Bang! Dean and Chuck come flying through the door. “I am the prophet, Chuck.” Classic!

Given the choice between taking off or fighting an Archangel, Lilith smokes out. The boys are back on the road and Sam gleefully tells Dean that Lilith is running scared.

Meanwhile, Chuck has another prophetic dream, which we don’t get to see, and it’s a doozy. When he wakes up Zacariah is there. “Did you see it?” Yes, yes he did. And whatever “it” is made him want to call Sam and Dean, to warn them, but Zac won’t let him. Chuck’s so devastated over what he saw that he threatens to go kill himself, but Cas’s boss says, “Don’t be melodramatic, Chuck. We’d only bring you back to life.” Instead he advises him to do what he always does, “Write.”

It’s now 12:50 in the morning and I can’t think anymore so I’m just going to finish with some random thoughts.

This episode had some brilliant wit and a lot of fun meta references, but it certainly got much darker than I expected. And did Zacariah look evil or what? He scared the crap outta me and I got the sense that Chuck was scared of him too. Also, why didn't they let the archangel get Lilith? Finally, I have to wonder who exactly is the monster at the end of this book?

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Additional fun metas:
Carver Edlund: from writers Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund.
Kripke’s Hollow diner
Any others?